Ulster County Police Chiefs Association to bestow annual awards

Putting the lives of other people first, tenacity and grace under pressure are among the traits of people being honored this year by the Ulster County Police Chiefs Association.

Among the honorees are the Special Investigation Unit of the Kingston Police Department, the state police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT) and the Ulster County District Attorney's Office for their efforts during "Operation Clean Sweep." That operation included the arrests of more than 100 people in and around Kingston on drug charges.

The awards will be presented during a banquet next Sunday at the Diamond Mills Hotel and Tavern in Saugerties.

Because this is the association's 40th anniversary year, "we're going to recognize a few people that were instrumental in the success of the association," said state police Capt. Robert Nuzzo.

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What follows is a list of everyone who will receive an award next Sunday, along with synopses of the work for which they are being honored. (The information is from SUNY New Paltz Police Chief David Dugatkin, other law-enforcement officials, court records and Freeman files and interviews.)

Meritorious Police Service -- Police Heroism

Officer Jonathan Tiernan, Saugerties Police Department

On Oct. 21, 2012, Tiernan responded to a residence on Rivka Road in Saugerties and found a mother wanting to talk to officers about her son.

The woman told Tiernan and Officers Brett Rell and Paul Gambino that her son had locked himself in his bedroom and was upset that his mother would not bring him to pick up a fishing rod from his uncle's house.

As the officers began to talk to the son through his closed door, his mother told them there were firearms in his room. She said the guns should be locked inside a safe but later told them her son might have access to an unsecured .22-caliber rifle. The mother then barged into her son's room without warning and began yelling that he had a gun. The son, in turn, was threatening to shoot and kill his mother.

Tiernan was the first officer into the room. He tried to get control of the rifle as the son yelled he was going to pull the trigger. Tiernan managed to get the action of the rifle open while the son continued fighting with police. Gambino then used a Taser on the son, and Tiernan was able to get control of the rifle, ending the situation.

Matthew was taken to a local hospital.

Meritorious Police Service -- Police Heroism

Trooper Joseph Bleichner, New York State Police

On May 24, 2012, Bleichner was flagged down while patrolling on U.S. Route 209 in the town of Wawarsing. The people who flagged him down said a house was on fire and someone was trapped inside. Bleichner rushed to the scene to find flames shooting out of the second-story windows of the single-family home.

Bleichner interviewed the occupants of the home who had made it out and learned an elderly man was trapped in a second-story bedroom. The trooper ran into the house and up the stairs, finding it was difficult to see through the smoke at the top. He also was met by flames and had to get around them to get to the trapped man.

Bleichner identified himself as a police officer, and the man yelled for help, leading them to eventually find one another. At that point, Bleichner grabbed the man and began escorting him downstairs.

Once outside, the two were treated by emergency medical workers, though neither suffered serious injury.

Meritorious Police Service -- Investigation

Detective Michael Benjamin, Kingston Police Department

On April 21, 2012, Benjamin received a report of a 25-year-old man having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl who attended a middle school in the city of Kingston. With the cooperation of the girl's parents, Benjamin learned what he needed to know about the case and also obtained details about three other victims. All four girls knew each other, and all were students at J. Watson Bailey Middle School in Kingston.

Benjamin learned that from the summer of 2011 until April 2012, Brian Densmore of Hillcrest Avenue, Kingston, had gained the trust of two of the girls through Facebook and text messages.

Densmore was arrested April 25, 2012, and charged with four counts of felony rape, one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse and four counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to four counts of felony rape and was sentenced in December to seven years in state prison on each of two counts of rape, as well as three years in prison for a third count of rape. Those sentences run consecutively, for a total of 17 years behind bars. He also willl be subject to 15 years of post-release supervision.

Authorities have said Densmore was not an employee of Bailey Middle School and that the rapes did not occur on school property.

Meritorious Police Service -- Investigation

Deputies Robert Shamro, Jonathan Geuss and James Mullen and K-9 Triton, Ulster County Sheriff's Office

On May 14, 2012, three teens escaped from the Grove Street Academy Children's Home in Kingston, and over the next several days, they went on a multi-town crime spree.

On May 18, Geuss and Mullen were sent to a residence in Rosendale for a report of a suspicious person inside the homeowner's car. Knowing these types of crimes usually are not isolated, and because it was 1 a.m., Mullen began a track with Triton. As both deputies and Triton followed the track, they began to find pieces of evidence that were discarded by the suspect. Tracking through a swamp and thorn covered bushes, Triton successfully found the suspect and subdued him. Deputies then took him into custody.

After finding the suspect, the deputies get him to admit he was working with two others, and the convinced the suspect to bring them to where the other teens were camping.

From there, Mullen, Triton and Shamro began a second track that covered more than 5 miles of brush, trails and swamps. Within an hour, the two other teens were found and taken into custody.

Arrested were two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old. Two of the suspects were identified as Michael Heady, 16, and Troy Conklin Jr., 17. Police said the three were connected to burglaries in Rosendale, Esopus and the town of Ulster, as well as to an abandoned trailer. In all, about 40 items were stolen and later recovered.

Heady was sentenced in February to one to three years in state prison for felony burglary; Conklin was sentenced to the same in April.

Meritorious Police Service -- Investigation

Officer Calvin Halstead, New Paltz Police Department

On Dec. 29, 2011, New Paltz police responded to a reported burglary at a cafe. Over the next month, 20 more businesses were either broken into or attempts were made to break into them. Police suspected a serial burglar, and an investigation task force was created that consisted of squads of plainclothes officers. New Paltz police were assisted by officers from the SUNY New Paltz Police Department and the Ulster County Sheriff's Office.

On Jan. 26, 2012, Halstead encountered Adam J. Keller inside a village laundramat. The two began talking, and when Halstead mentioned the ongoing investigation, he noticed Keller seemed nervous and began to tremble. Keller gave Halstead the impression he knew more than he would say, so the officer backed off and notified detectives.

Armed with information from Halstead, detectives identified Keller as a person of interest and were able to link evidence collected at several of the burglary scenes to him.

Keller was arrested in early February 2012 and charged with felony burglary and possession of stolen property. He pleaded guilty in July to two counts of felony burglary.

Meritorious Police Service -- Police Service

Officer Shirley Jiminian, Plattekill Police Department

Jiminian was involved in "Operation Clean Sweep" conducted by members of the Kingston Police Department and the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT).

During the operation, Jiminian made more than 50 undercover drug buys that resulted in the arrest of 17 dealers. Her ability to remain calm and relay accurate descriptions of targets and their associates was instrumental in the arrests and prosecution of the suspects. She also provided testimony in court against the suspects.

Meritorious Police Service -- Police Service

Deputy Robert Leonardo Jr., Ulster County Sheriff's Office

Since 2007, Leonardo has been the intelligence officer for the county's Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT). He has provided intelligence about numerous shootings and gang-related crimes throughout the county, resulting in multiple arrests and convictions. Leonardo also maintains relationships with the state Department of Corrections' Special Operations Division, the New York City Department of Corrections' Investigations Unit and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

In the course of his work, Leonardo assisted with "Operation Clean Sweep," conducted by members of the Kingston Police Department and URGENT. During the sweep, Leonardo gathered as much intelligence as possible to keep his team members and the streets safe. The operation led to the arrest of more than 100 people.

Leonardo also assisted in the prosecution of the cases against the defendants.

Meritorious Police Service -- Team Unit

Kingston Police Department Special Investigation Unit, Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT), Ulster County District Attorney's Office and state police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team

Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright enlisted the assistance of the units listed above to perform "Operation Clean Sweep" in and around Kingston. Starting in the summer of 2011 and ending in March 2012, the officers carried out 207 separate undercover drug buys.

Rather than moving in for quick arrests, the team built cases and presented them to an Ulster County grand jury.

By March 2012, the team had assembled cases against 80 drug dealers, and they were presented to the grand jury. On March 31, 2012, raid teams descended on locations in the city of Kingston and surrounding towns and arrested dozens of the accused.

Over the next month, 78 of the original 80 were convicted.

There were 111 suspects arrested as part of the sweep. Drugs seized during the raids included crack cocaine, powdered cocaine and heroin. Police also seized cash, two handguns and 16 cars.

The Ellenville police and URGENT began "Operation Southwest Shake-Up" in January 2012 to investigate drug trafficking in and around the village of Ellenville. The investigation included 70 undercover drug buys and resulted in 23 arrests.

Seized in the roundup were heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, diverted pharmaceuticals and marijuana.

Meritorious Police Service -- Team Unit

Saugerties Police Department, New York State Police, town of Ulster Police Department and Ulster County Sheriff's Office

Meritorious Citizenship -- Justice

Robert Martin

At 1:06 p.m. on April 10, 2012, Saugerties police received a report of an alarm being activated at Sawyer Savings Bank on Market Street. A dispatcher called the bank and spoke to a staff member who was not aware of the alarm but checked on the matter. At 1:09 p.m., numerous patrol cars arrived at the bank and confirmed a robbery had occurred.

A description of the suspected robbers soon went out over police radios. At the same time, the police dispatcher received a call from Martin, who said he was following the suspects' brown van onto the Thruway. With Martin tracking the vehicle, police were able to quickly find the van at the Ulster rest area on the Thruway and arrest three suspects.

During the investigation, police discovered the three had been responsible for seven bank robberies that took place over the course of several days.

Martin was unaware of the robbery when he noticed suspicious activity near his chiropractic office. What he saw was a brown van circling the area, followed by a man running and then jumping into the vehicle. When he heard sirens, Martin decided to follow the vehicle, keeping police informed of its movements.

Arrested were Ryan Novick, 31, and John Streb, 27, both of the city of Rochester, and Amanda Muhs, 27, of Albany. Novick and Streb were convicted of felony robbery and grand larceny, and each was sentenced to 3-1/2 to seven years in state prison. Muhs received just six months in jail and five years of probation after agreeing to testify against the other two.

Meritorious Police Service -- Lifesaving

Officer Jeremy Rushkoski, Saugerties Police Department

Rushkoski was sent to meet with a man who had been on the phone for 45 minutes with the Family of Woodstock Suicide Hotline. When Rushkoski arrived, he found the man in the front yard of his residence. After the man saw the officer, he jumped onto a plastic lawn chair under a tree and placed a garden hose that he had tied into a noose around his neck. He then kicked the chair out from under himself.

Rushkoski rushed over, grabbed the man around the waist and lifted him up. The man began to fight back, but in the end, Rushkoski was able to remove the noose. The man continued to fight until Saugerties Police Department Sgt. Michael Craft, who had arrived at the scene, used a Taser to subdue him.

Meritorious Police Service -- Lifesaving

Trooper David Ruderfer, New York State Police

Ruderfer, who was with his police dog, Lane, pulled over a vehicle on U.S. Route 9W in the town of Lloyd on March 7, 2012, when another vehicle stopped behind the patrol car. The driver, a woman said her 19-year-old son, who was in the car, had stopped breathing.

Ruderfer found the teen semi-conscious and incoherent. The woman told the trooper her son swallowed about 30 sleeping pills and possibly other medications in an attempt to commit suicide. Ruderfer made the decision to put the teen in his patrol car and drive him to a hospital.

On the way, Ruderfer notified Ulster County 911, which, in turn, alerted the hospital. When he arrived at the hospital, Ruderfer carried the teen inside, where medical personnel took over.

Two days after the incident, Ruderfer contacted the woman, who said her son was expected to make a full recovery.

Meritorious Citizenship -- Lifesaving

Officer Corey Tome, Saugerties Police Department

On June 24, 2012, Tome was sent to a Saugerties home where a person was reported to be suicidal. On his way, Tome was told the person had tried to kill himself by cutting his wrists and neck and was barricaded in his bathroom.

When Tome arrived, he heard yelling coming from inside the house. He first spoke with the suicidal subject's father and then approached the bathroom. Through the partly open door, Tome saw a large amount of blood in the sink and on the floor. The person inside then slammed the door and refused to come out.

Forcing the door in, Tome found the person with severe cuts to his left wrist and even worse ones to his neck. The person then began tearing at his neck wound with his hands to cause further injury.

Tome grabbed the person and pulled him out of the bathroom and away from the knife he had used to cause the original cuts. The person kept fighting, but with the assistance of Saugerties Officer Brett Rell, he was subdued and put into an ambulance.

Meritorious Citizenship -- Heroism

Brian Meyer and John Dutka Jr.

About 11 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2012, an elderly female driver suffered a diabetic emergency and went off a road and into a ditch, crashing her vehicle into the headwall of a driveway. She was semi-conscious and could not get out of the vehicle on her own.

Meyer and Dutka were driving on the same road in their own cars. Both men stopped and tried to help the woman out of her car, but she was confused and at first refused their help. She then spun the tires on her vehicle in an attempt to continue on her way.

At that point, Meyer and Dutka realized the vehicle was on fire and they removed the woman and got her to a safe area.

The fire eventually engulfed the entire car.

Lifetime Achievement

E. Micahel Kavanagh

Kavanagh served as Ulster County chief assistant district attorney before being elected DA in 1978. He remained in that post until being elected in 1998 to the state Supreme Court, Third Judicial District. In 2006, Kavanagh was appointed to the Appellate Division, First Department, and in 2008, was appointed to the Appellate Division, Third Department.

While working in the Ulster County District Attorney's Office, Kavanagh successfully prosecuted numerous high-profile cases.

Special Award

Chaplains Johann Christoph Arnold, Joel Gold and Peter Vianney

Arnold, Gold and Vianney are being honored for their work providing spiritual guidance to area police officers who have suffered tragedy in their own lives.

Chapter Member Award

Philip J. Sinagra Sr.

Sinagra joined the Hurley Constabulary in 1967. In 1970, he became chief of the constabulary. Then, between 1970 and 1972, Sinagra and then-Kingston Police Chief Julius Glassman met several times to discuss training and other law-enforcement related issues. Those meetings led to the creation of the Ulster County Police Chiefs Association, which held its first meeting on Feb. 27, 1973.

Sinagra remained involved with the association even after leaving his chief's position in 1975 to pursue a political career, first as a Hurley councilman for more than 18 years and then as an Ulster County legislator.

Special Recognition -- Police Retirements

Louis Barbaria and David Ackert

Barbaria began his police career in the village of Saugerties on Nov. 1, 1970. His career took him to the state police and the rank of major, from which he retired on Dec. 30, 2005.

On Dec. 9, 2009, Barbaria was named chief of the town of Saugerties Police Department. During his time as chief, he oversaw the successful merger of the town and village of Saugerties police departments.

He stepped down as Saugerties police chief on April 27, 2012.

Ackert began his law-enforcement career as a dispatcher in Walden in 1988 and became a police officer a short time later. He then joined the town Lloyd police, rising to the rank of chief on June 30, 2001.

During his career, Ackert was integral in moving the Lloyd Police Department from its original location to 25 Milton Ave. in the hamlet of Highland in December 2005.

Ackert retired last year after 23 years of service with the Lloyd police.